Blank Slate

Written by Chuck Pheterson

An eccentric billionaire with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease funds a clandestine group of stem cell researchers to find a cure. They produce a drug with a serious side effect: the patient’s brain, though cured, is turned to a blank slate. Personality, knowledge, memories, language, and abilities are restored to an embryonic state. An enterprising product marketing executive, determined to find a market for this unusual drug, had an idea. The twisted minds of sociopathic criminals could be wiped clean, saving society billions of dollars in incarceration and failed attempts at rehabilitation. To test the drug’s effectiveness, the billionaire enacts a plot to kidnap a murderer from death row. After treatment, a new identity, and years of nurturing, this ex-murderer, unaware of his prior life, becomes a loving and productive member of society. If the truth of his past came to light, would mankind be willing to forgive him and embrace the person that he has become?